Ashes 2017: Steve Finn ruled out of England's tour and will be sent home from Australia due to knee injury

Fast bowler to see specialist upon return to UK to determine if freak injury needs surgery

Steve Finn have been ruled out of the entire Ashes tour due to a freak knee injury (Getty)

Steven Finn’s Ashes tour is over after England confirmed he has sustained a torn cartilage in his left knee.

The Middlesex fast bowler will return to the UK within the next 48 hours before seeing a specialist to determine whether he requires surgery on the freak injury he sustained batting in the nets last week.

Finn’s third Ashes tour has lasted just nine days following the bizarre incident in Perth last Thursday when he struck himself with his own bat attempting a drive during practice.

Three players are in contention to replace Finn in the Ashes squad, with Liam Plunkett, a regular in England’s limited-overs team, Tom Helm, the 23-year-old Middlesex seamer, and Surrey’s Tom Curran all being discussed by team management.

An England statement said: “Steven Finn will miss the remainder of England’s tour of Australia after scans revealed he has a torn left knee cartilage.

“The Middlesex seamer will now return to the UK in the next 48 hours where he will meet a knee specialist to ascertain whether he will have an operation. England will announce his replacement for the rest of the tour in due course.”

England, who will start a four-day pink-ball match against a Cricket Australia XI at the Adelaide Oval tomorrow, had given Finn a week to prove his fitness after initial scans proved inconclusive.

But despite receiving anti-inflammatory injections, further scans revealed a more serious problem.

Finn had only been selected himself as a late replacement for Ben Stokes, the all-rounder who has remained in England while police investigate his involvement in the late-night altercation in Bristol during the one-day series against West Indies in September.

However, this is another setback in Finn’s career after he was sent home early from the 2013-14 Ashes tour when he was deemed “unselectable” by then limited-overs coach Ashley Giles.

Meanwhile, Joe Root’s vice-captain for this tour is set to be announced within the next 48 hours.

Finn will return home from Australia without playing a single match (Getty)

With Stokes absent, Root is without a deputy for the Ashes. Alastair Cook, the Yorkshireman’s predecessor as captain, Stuart Broad and James Anderson are all in contention for the role.

England coach Trevor Bayliss confirmed: “Rooty and I have had a bit of a chat about it over the last few days, and you'll probably see an announcement in the next day or two,” said Bayliss.

“There’s probably three or four guys in the team that could do it - older guys who play that role anyway as leaders of the team.”